Garth Rattray | June is also road safety awareness month

We need to confront the fatal five traffic offences – speeding, distracted driving, driving while impaired, not wearing a seatbelt, and careless and inconsiderate driving. The authorities are carrying out special activities because June is being observed [globally and locally] as Road Safety Awareness Month. 

However, I’m not feeling it because of the increasing number of citizens who are making our roads dangerous. Thank God that, as the herd of road hogs swell, others have adapted well.  

Once upon a time, in a more disciplined, civil, sensible, well-thinking, safety-conscious, courteous, law-abiding, respectful Jamaica, the antics that some drivers get up to would have made horrified people balk and severely reprimand the offenders. Today, more people are learning to anticipate the worst and get out of the way in order to survive. With our propensity for violence, it is wise to say and do nothing when someone ‘bad drives’ you.

However, having led the way with the ‘eat a food’ philosophy, intrepid operators / drivers of route taxicabs, minibuses, and delivery motorbikes choose to systematically ignore common sense and the law, by rewriting their personal rules of the road, based on survivalist principles that relegate other road users to the ranks of the inconvenient obstructions that must be ignored or navigated at all costs. 

It no longer shocks me when I see drivers approach a red light, with other drivers waiting patiently, and go to the far-left lane, swerve across the lanes, break the red light and go right. I am no longer flabbergasted when I see the vast majority of motorbike drivers go straight through the red light and dart through the cross traffic, risking it all to make a quick delivery.

I have come to expect that drivers will shoot up the mandatory right turn lane, and cut in front of everyone just to be at the front of the traffic line waiting at the light. On many occasions, there are two or three or even four drivers doing this. And, if I am travelling in the turning lane, I anticipate a road hog or two, or three or more to make that same right turn from a non-turning lane.

 Mounting the sidewalk to ‘undertake’ traffic is a common occurrence, and overtaking long lines of traffic before boring back in line is a given on any roadway. It is commonplace to see peanut-brained drivers flying past others at pedal-to-the-metal speed and continue passing even though there might be oncoming traffic, a bend in the road, or the knoll of a hill. This accustomed indiscipline and flouting of the law has led to catastrophic crashes. 

The combination of selfishness, impatience, indiscipline, ignorance, and stupidity makes a potentially deadly cocktail. The evidence of this is seen on the news when fatal, high-speed, multiple vehicle crashes occur leaving mangled vehicles and human bodies strewn all over the road.

The authorities have put a lot of effort into attempting to reduce the traffic accidents and deaths associated with crashes. Media reports are that the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has been carrying out road safety activities in several communities, especially to engage the most vulnerable groups - pedestrians and motorcyclists. The ongoing efforts of the JCF in conjunction with other stakeholders, have borne fruit. According to the Island Traffic Authority (ITA), there has been 49 fewer road deaths since January 1, 2026. This translates into a 30 percent reduction in road fatalities when compared to the same period last year. 

Recent statistics reveal the usual [crash] relationships between road users. Motorcyclists account for 30 or 26 per cent of fatalities, pedestrians account for 28 or 25 per cent, private motor vehicle drivers account for 24 or 21 percent, private motor vehicle passengers account for 20 or 18 percent, and pedal cyclists account for five or four percent. 

The report states that “Vulnerable road-users – pedestrians, pedal cyclists, motorcyclists and pillion passengers combined – account for 57 per cent of all fatalities since the start of the year. Meanwhile, males and females account for 83 per cent and 17 per cent respectively of fatalities so far this year.”

The very effective way of reducing road traffic crashes (and therefore, road fatalities), is to implement the “Safe System” approach. It is a holistic, evidence-based framework that takes into consideration the propensity for human error, and design mitigation safeguards. These include, safe roads, safe speeds, safe vehicles, safe road users, and improving emergency medical response. Implementing these interconnected pillars requires input from planning and engineering, vehicle technology, the constabulary, and educators.     

Indiscipline and non-compliance on the roads, breeds more indiscipline and non-compliance. If we are going to do something definitive about the craziness out there, we need to add unmarked [traffic] vehicles (that will intercept and ticket law breakers) to the existing fleet. Not knowing who is observing road users as they break red lights, zoom past long lines of traffic, overtake dangerously on the highways, and flout a multitude of traffic laws, has a ‘general deterrence’ effect. The accustomed static speed, safety, and document check points are often anticipated and avoided.

We don’t have enough police to monitor the roads. Enter traffic cameras. They can reduce speeding and red-light violations by 40 to 50 percent and over 90 percent in targeted zones. They are a very strong deterrent because they can issue automated tickets. The shock effect of traffic cam ticketing is sustained. Traffic cams alone account for a 55 percent reduction in road fatalities. I eagerly anticipate their implementation.

Garth Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice, and author of ‘The Long and Short of Thick and Thin’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.